Enterprise Florida's top job: Accountability

Enterprise Florida is a mess. Imagine how much more of a mess it would have been with another quarter-billion dollars from the public.

Gov. Rick Scott asked the Legislature this year to give the state's job-recruiting agency $250 million — 10 times the current allocation. The Florida Senate was willing, but the House wasn't. Enterprise Florida got no new money.

In response, Enterprise Florida CEO Bill Johnson announced last month that he would quit after 16 months. Scott asked a former Department of Children and Families secretary to review Enterprise Florida's structure and operations and make recommendations for saving money. David Wilkins presented his suggestions three weeks ago.

Wilkins said Enterprise Florida should cut 27 positions from a payroll that includes too many overpaid managers, stop leasing so much expensive office space around the state and stop wasting money. Indeed, Wilkins said the agency had inadequate cost controls.

Think about it. Scott asked for all that new money before verifying that Enterprise Florida was spending the old money properly and operating efficiently. Enterprise Florida likely would have wasted most of that $250 million, which Scott called critical to the state's economy.

As news reports showed, among its 90 employees, Enterprise Florida has five senior vice presidents who make at least $130,000 and could receive up to $215,000. Fifteen plain old vice presidents could make between $80,000 and $120,000. The agency has a senior vice president of government affairs and a director of government affairs — both lobbying jobs.

Then there's Johnson, who's been traveling on behalf of Enterprise Florida before his departure this month. His salary has been $265,000. He got a $50,000 bonus last year and will get six months' pay as a severance.

As Enterprise Florida's chairman, Scott hires the CEO. Johnson had been running Miami-Dade County's water and sewer department after running PortMiami. The Miami Herald reported at the time that Johnson had been nearing mandatory retirement and had unsuccessfully sought to run Miami-Dade's economic development agency, which is similar to Enterprise Florida. Yet Scott thought Johnson could run the statewide agency.

Even if the Enterprise Florida board at its June 30 meeting approves the proposed changes, which reportedly could save $6 million, the agency faces more political problems. State Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-Lutz, the incoming House speaker, wants to strip the agency of its remaining $23.5 million in state funding.

The Legislature created Enterprise Florida in 1996 to replace the Department of Commerce. Then-Gov. Lawton Chiles and business leaders believed that a public-private operation could move quicker than a state agency. The goal was for half of the budget to come from the state and half from private sources.

Instead, 90 percent comes from the state. Yet Enterprise Florida has repeatedly acted as if it can operate in secret, like a private corporation. That continued under Johnson.

The Naples Daily News reported two weeks ago that Johnson hired his former PortMiami spokeswoman to write speeches for him. Paula Musto's two contracts totaled $158,000. The second was extended for $99,999, to avoid the requirement that the Enterprise Florida board approve contracts of at least $100,000. Another former PortMiami colleague, Diana Gonzalez, got a $60,000 contract to help Johnson's "transition" to the Enterprise Florida job. In all cases, Johnson acted to avoid scrutiny of the contracts.

For Gonzalez, the transition went wonderfully. The paper reported that Johnson made her senior vice president of innovation and entrepreneurship. The new position paid $142,000. Johnson brought in another PortMiami employee as Enterprise Florida's chief of staff, which the paper reported was a job similar to chief operating officer.

Rather than express outrage at the many revelations, Enterprise Florida Vice Chairman Alan Becker — of Fort Lauderdale-based Becker & Poliakoff — said, "I don't see what policies we would need to change or if there's anything wrong."

In fact, there's a lot wrong with Enterprise Florida — and there has been for a long time. Numerous news reports have shown that the agency delivers actual jobs from incentive money at a rate far lower than promised. As Becker's comment demonstrates, there is too little board oversight. CEOs get bonuses without adequate evidence they deserve one.

Enterprise Florida clearly did not deserve that $250 million in state money. The agency now must show whether it deserves any state money at all.